Why do we love chocolate so much?

One reason may be the astounding range of flavors good chocolate contains.  Chocolate is a complex and mysterious flavor, unlikely to get the dreaded moniker “plain” which is often given to poor vanilla.

There is science behind the complex flavor of great chocolate.  As Tim Richardson explains in his book “Sweets – a history of candy”,

“…chocolate is an extremely complex foodstuff with some 387 separate chemical compounds already identified, and potentially up
t0 800 different flavors and scents…To put chocolate in perspective:  wine has about 250 aromatic components…”

Rich, fragrant and indulgent, the arrays of flavor components in chocolate become heaven to our taste buds.

Though not at all a tradition of Japanese food, the complexity of chocolate flavor epitomizes the Japanese gourmet notion of “Umami”, or deep, intense flavor & richness.